The song was a mid charting single internationally, although if did giver her another chart topper in Canada. Once again, a more sensitive vocal is offered by the lead singer as she laments to her former beau, “I’ve always been in love with you…the show is over, say goodbye”. Moreover, the lead single from her most recent album, “Secret” as well as “ Bedtime Stories” itself had dropped out of the charts almost as soon as it had arrived, so the success of “Take A Bow”, a Latin infused number about lost love, was a welcome boost for album sales at the end of 1994. Madonna’s most recent US number one, “Take A Bow” came more than two years since her last, which was also a ballad and is featured on this album. It’s appearance here is a highlight and one so early on as well. The single was a huge success too, topping the Canadian chart, making No.2 in America and No.7 in the UK and Australia. It bridged the “Erotica” era with the “Bedtime Stories” era that was to follow later that year and proved that Madonna was still capable of producing a heartfelt song without controversy, in the style of her earlier smashes like “Crazy For You” and “Live To Tell”. “I’ll Remember” was a one-off song written for the film ‘With Honors’ and released in early 1994. This new version is coated with Massive Attack’s trademark production while Madonna’s vocals are so beautiful that you almost forget the deep, sexual notes she had been keeping in recent years. “I Want You” is not a new song, but a cover of a Marvin Gaye hit from 1976, which made No.15 in America. In fact you could almost state that this song is a dress rehearsal for her Bond theme that would come seven years later. “I Want You” is a brooding, down-tempo dance track which would of fitted well on the “Erotica” album, save for the orchestral soundtrack which gives it a cinematic quality. The album opens with one of the new tracks not previously featured on a Madonna album and sees her join forces with British producers Massive Attack, who had already enjoyed unrivalled success with songs like “Unfinished Sympathy” and “Protection”. So without a lot of fanfare, without any distractions, I present to you this collection of ballads. While I have no regrets regarding the choices I’ve made artistically, I’ve learned to appreciate the idea of doing things in a simpler way.
Madonna herself acknowledged the past half decade within the inlay card of the album, stating: “So much controversy has swirled around my career this past decade that very little attention ever gets paid to my music. Most recent of those being the number one “Take A Bow”. While it had only been five years since her first compilation, Madonna chose for the next chapter to put together a record of ballad and down-tempo songs which had often given her the biggest hits of all. Critics too were more scrutinising of her output, the musical and lyrical content, the choices made when it came to subject matter and the increasingly often singles that were just missing the charts altogether. Madonna – “Something To Remember” By 1995, Madonna’s career had slumped somewhat, after the colossal success of her 1990 best of “ The Immaculate Collection“, sales of her two studio albums “ Erotica” (1992) and “ Bedtime Stories” (1994) had come nowhere near the double million figures she had been used to in the 1980’s.
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